As soon as I opened the jewel box, a golden insignia wrapped in black velvet was revealed. Its brilliance was enough for me to understand why the duke had become so urgent.
“Why are you not saying anything, Siani?” The duke asked when I just looked down silently. He must have thought I’d faint from shock at the sight.
Well. From the duke’s perspective, who knew nothing, just coming back to his senses must have seemed impressive enough.
“You must have been very surprised.”
“…Of course. This is the golden sword insignia that only comes down to the direct descendants of the Rixon imperial family.”
He sighed, not expecting it to have been hidden in our summer residence.
Having read Claude’s letter by then, I calmly replied. “It seems like the former royal princess entrusted this to mother, meaning to protect her son.”
“Why? There are the minister and the emperor.”
“Hmm, my guess is,” I pretended to ponder briefly. “Would the Grand Duke Benio family have just watched if an unwed royal princess had a son? This ‘boy’ was the only one in the Rixon imperial family who could become a crown prince.”
Meteora was an empire founded together by three mages. Thus, unlike other worlds where all power was concentrated in the imperial authority, here it was divided into three powers of Eunomia.
“But if this ‘boy’ wasn’t there, the only male who could ascend to the throne within Eunomia would be…”
Only Ash Benio.
“It’s unlikely they would let her son become the crown prince without doing anything.”
Had Redian been in the imperial family, he would have already been dead. Whether assassinated, rebelled against by the nobles and officials, or for the dignity of the Rixon imperial family.
“Siani.” Then, the duke, lost in thought, spoke. “It seems like you already knew.”
“What? How could I?”
Ah, maybe I should have screamed. My reaction was too composed.
“I didn’t know either. How could I have known that the only heir to the Rixon imperial family was in the underground castle?” I blinked my eyes, putting on an innocent face. “I just had some idea of who this boy could be.”
“…Could it be.” The duke’s expression turned grave as he trailed off. Naturally, he must have had some idea about the ‘boy.’
“Francis is the son of a count and a maid. In other words, his parents are clear. The same goes for Vallentin.”
Most Norma were like them, illegitimate children abandoned by noble families. That is, they were definitely of noble blood, whether legitimate or not. The duke must have gathered all the abandoned boys, but with the boy’s identity as Izel’s son now revealed, most were eliminated.
“But Inein is…” Thinking of Inein, I added succinctly. “Clearly not of Rixon imperial blood.”
If the emperor or Kailus looked like statues carved from crystal, Inein seemed carved from solid marble.
“Then…”
“Yes,” I answered without any hesitation. “It must be Redian.”
How long had I been waiting to say this? It felt like a weight had been lifted.
“…Sigh. No. We must be cautious.” The duke covered his mouth, shaking his head. “It might not be Redian, right? There’s no explanation in Claude’s letter about who the boy is.”
I couldn’t just stubbornly say it was Redian.
“If that boy is the successor to Meteora, whom the saintess predicted… shouldn’t it be at least as good as Redian?”
“…That’s true, but.”
Though I joked, the duke couldn’t deny it. Naturally, someone with the presence of a born emperor could only be Redian.
“There must be other evidence left by the late royal princess.”
She wouldn’t have just handed this over to Claude.
“I’ll continue to search, so please help me, Father.”
“Right. We must visit the imperial place where the late royal princess and Claude lived together.” The duke murmured, sighing briefly.
“When I first brought Redian.” He seemed to recall that distant day. “The guild leader of the underground guild said so. That surviving was a miracle itself, and he would resurrect from any death.”
Resurrect from any death. Without listing his entire life, the meaning was clear.
“Like Claude’s prayers…” The duke traced a triangular symbol of worship on his chest. “It seems the Goddess has been protecting that boy all this time.”
At his words, I fell silent for a moment.
“Why did I survive?”
Suddenly, Redian’s question to me came to mind.
“What will you do now, Siani?”
“For now, I’ll keep this, Father.” I hugged the jewel box to myself as I spoke. “After all, Redian is also a knight under my command.”
Then, I started organizing the steps we needed to take in my head. “Revealing Redian as the crown prince now won’t win us any supporters.”
When an heir was born in the imperial family, festivals were held for days, and every birthday resulted in pardons and treasury openings, all for one purpose. Brainwashing. Because that’s how people come to regard their existence as special and kneel to them.
Whether nobles or commoners, no one would pledge loyalty to a suddenly appeared crown prince.
“Do you have a plan in mind?”
“First, we need to change public opinion.”
Currently, Ash Benio was the one acclaimed as the crown prince by the imperial citizens. There’s a reason he’s obsessed with managing his image.
But Redian, rumored to be cursed as a Norma, becoming the crown prince? It was obvious how the Grand Duke Benio family would manipulate public opinion.
“First, we need to show our loyalty to the Rixon imperial family. Once Redian ascends, our Felicite family will be seen as the family that protected the crown prince.”
So far, Felicite had been hiding in darkness not because of a curse but as a breath-holding strategy for twenty years to protect Rixon’s heir. We needed such a narrative for people to cheer.
“We’ll start with the monster hunting competition award ceremony this week.”
So that no one could think of curses while watching the white knights receive laurels directly from the emperor.
And the empress will appear.
“After the ceremony, I’ll distribute the ointment I gave to the servants to the common people as well.”
“To the commoners?”
“Yes. We must steal that sacred and noble image enjoyed by the Benio family.”
Scenes of Redian ascending above the crown prince in the original flashed through my mind. The noble blood, the silent coronation painted in ashes… But this time, it will be different.
“Redian will ascend as the crown prince of the Meteora Empire amidst the loudest cheers and blessings.”
Because I was going to make it happen that way.
* * *
I immediately called for Redian upon returning to my office. The award ceremony of the monster hunting competition was the day after tomorrow. That meant the date for Redian’s debut(?) was set, so I had to prepare thoroughly.
“Milady, Redian has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
Though I was in a strict mode towards Redian, I didn’t react even to the sound of the door opening.
“Did you summon me, Master?”
“Yes.”
I looked up again with a sterner expression, but…
Wow. What a sight to behold. Redian, having just come from a fitting, was dressed in a white uniform. I fully understood why the author repeatedly described him as ’a devil with the face of an angel.’
Archangel Lucifer. That holy name naturally came to mind.
“Cough, the day after tomorrow is the award ceremony for the monster hunting competition, you know.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Since the medal would be directly awarded by His Majesty, your name and birthday must be included on the plaque.”
But my voice remained poker-faced as I spoke. Even to my own ears, it didn’t sound like how I usually addressed Redian. It was business-like and calm, like when I spoke to Aeron or Obelo.
“Do you know your birthday?”
“No.”
Redian, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, shook his head. Naturally, he wouldn’t know.
“I heard it’s around this time.”
“Yes.”
“Then… when do you want it to be?”
We needed to build a narrative before appearing in front of people, starting with setting an exact birthday.
“Please decide, Master.”
“Hmm.”
The day after tomorrow, Redian would reveal his ‘true’ face to the world for the first time. It would be fitting to commemorate that day.
“How about the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes. That’s fine.”
Whether it was his real birthday or not, it seemed of little concern to Redian; his answers remained dry throughout. After all, he had lived nearly twenty years without knowing his own birthday.
“Is there anything you want as a birthday present?”
After all, the day after tomorrow would be his first birthday, in a sense.
“What should I receive… as a birthday gift?”
“Just something you like or have always wanted.”
Moreover, it would be his first birthday gift ever.
“Then, Master.”
“Yes?” Curious about his response, I looked at him.
“Just once…” The corners of Redian’s mouth, which had been expressionless, slightly turned up. “Please hug me.”
It was a smile that instantly broke the cold air.
Como puedo ver el siguiente capitulo? :c